ON24 Announces Virtual Talent Development Suite

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 17, 2013) - ON24, Inc., the global leader in webcasting and virtual environment solutions, announced today the Virtual Talent Development Suite, a solution for businesses which provides an enhanced user experience for every stage of the employee development lifecycle, from talent acquisition and new-hire onboarding to employee learning and leadership development. This new offering from ON24 delivers an engaging and interactive "front end" user experience that complements key talent development components such as learning management and applicant tracking systems.

"Ongoing employee development is critical if you want to have a smarter, more productive workforce," said Sharat Sharan, ON24 President and CEO. "With the Virtual Talent Development Suite, ON24 is using its virtual solutions to redefine talent development experiences. This is an approach that meets the needs of both enterprises and their employees, providing a professional development experience that is ideal for global workforces."

Customer and Workforce BenefitsThe key Virtual Talent Development Suite applications are virtual talent onboarding and leadership development. The benefits to such customers as Marriott, Sodexo and Hershey include a simpler, more engaging experience for end users; the ability to cost-effectively recruit, hire and train global workforces; and more comprehensive reporting and analytics. The experience is further enhanced by:

Tailored and role-based curricula and learning paths to better meet both corporate and employee needs

Greater opportunities for networking and collaboration

Increased access to subject matter experts, coaches and mentors

Addressing Customer ChallengesThe number of learning and development professionals is shrinking year-over-year, yet jobs grow even more specialized. This makes it all the more challenging to ensure that employees receive the right training and development resources.

Global workforces: Over 36% of HR and learning professionals say that reaching a geographically-dispersed or global workforce is their biggest challenge.

Usability: 26% of learners say learning management system "usability" is their biggest challenge.

Engagement: Over 82% of HR and learning professionals say "offering more engaging training" is a near-term priority.

New Talent Development Research ResultsThe market is ready for virtual talent development environments. A recent ON24 survey of more than 200 HR professionals across the U.S. found that a virtual talent development solution would be valuable. Respondents cited these benefits:

It simplifies administration and implementation (43%)

It creates a "progression," from onboarding to leadership development (41%)

It provides an easy solution for virtual training content development (39%)

Nearly two-thirds (64%) indicated that they are either already using virtual talent development tools or are open to future use.

"A business can customize its virtual environments so that a new hire learns not just the specifics of a particular job but also is introduced to the actual corporate culture. Because of today's global workforces, only a virtual solution can accomplish this," said Jim Lundy, CEO and lead analyst, Aragon Research Inc. "ON24's approach to virtual employee onboarding, with its blend of content and learning, is unique in the industry."

About ON24, Inc.ON24, the virtual communications platform for the global enterprise, provides interactive, impactful cloud-based solutions that drive outstanding results. ON24 offers a broad and innovative product portfolio, including webcasting, virtual events and virtual environments, accessible from any device and supported by robust reporting and analytics. Applications for the ON24 platform include demand generation, partner enablement, virtual talent onboarding and development, product launches, company town hall meetings and user conferences. More than 800 organizations, including IBM, CA Technologies, Merck, Unilever, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Credit Suisse, Ernst & Young, Amazon and SAP, rely on ON24. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout the world. For more information, visit: http://www.ON24.com.